Media Upset about Judge’s Overturn of Bloomberg Soda Ban

After New York court nixed soda ban, journalists, pundits continued to defend it.

By

Liz Thatcher

March 20, 2013 - 3:18pm

New York City Mayor
Michael Bloomberg’s controversial ban of large soda and sugary drinks was
overturned March 11, yet the liberal media continued to promote such a ban.

NBC portrayed
Bloomberg’s law as a noble fight for the health of New Yorkers. CNN “Starting
Point” anchor Soledad O’Brien threw away her objectivity in an interview by announcing
she had been a “long supporter” of the soda ban. CNN host Piers Morgan also
chimed in support for the overturned law. But MSNBC’s “Morning Joe” co-host
Mika Brzezinski had a complete meltdown, referencing it as a “serious issue”
and calling sugar “poison” four times and “toxic” twice.

That’s just a
taste of the media’s attitude towards soda. The New York Times had a front page
story[1] on March 13 dedicated to the “Soda War Allies.”
In an article attacking the supposed soda lobby, the Times pointed out that not
only did the industry profit, but advocacy groups for minorities had also
teamed up with beverage industry to fight increased soda taxes and bans.

On March 11,
NBC’s “Nightly News” anchor Brian Williams declared[3] that Bloomberg’s battle “isn’t over yet.”
Correspondent Rehema Ellis continued the Bloomberg-will-not-be-defeated
campaign, proclaiming “the Mayor says his fight to make New Yorkers healthier
will continue.”

Several CNN
anchors also seemed unhappy about the law’s demise. On the March 12 edition of
“Starting Point,” O’Brien proudly proclaimed[4] that she had been a long time supporter of
Bloomberg’s soda ban. She then harassed the New York Restaurant Association’s
Andrew Moesel, asking if he was “standing up for something that ultimately is
unhealthy for children and adults, too?”

On the previous
night, Piers Morgan also defended[5] his support for Mayor Bloomberg’s nanny-state
laws, declaring that “he wants New Yorkers to be fitter and healthier. What’s
wrong with that?”

None of this
compared to Mika Brzezinski’s March 12 rant on MSNBC’s “Morning Joe.”
Brzezinski called sugar “poison” four times in five minutes and charged that
the “American Beverage Association is relieved because they can continue to
make money poisoning people.”

Brzezinski
continued her tirade by praising Bloomberg, calling him a “visionary” for his
soda ban attempt. “It’s killing us, it’s killing our children. It’s liquid
sugar, and sugar is poison,” she stated.

She then told
consumers to be mad at themselves for buying this “stuff” which encourages
companies to “produce poison for you and your children.”

The irony of
all of this paranoia over soda consumption is that consumption peaked in 1998
and has fallen by 17.3 percent, according to Beverage Digest[6]. All without the help of Bloomberg.

The media had
been hyping Bloomberg’s soda ban for some time. From Jan. 1 to March 13 2013,
all three network news broadcasts demonized soda 18 times. NBC and CBS both
consulted “experts” from the Center for Science in the Public Interest, or
CSPI, without noting that they are a pro-regulatory group that has attacked
dozens of different foods and beverages.

CSPI has been
relentless in its war against soda. In fact, it was one of the leading activist
organizations that led to the ban of soda[7] in public schools in 2005. Many in the media
praised it for its efforts and even provided a platform for CSPI Director,
Michael Jacobson, to speak. Jacobson called for warning labels to be put on all
sodas that they can cause obesity on CBS’s “The Morning Show.”

In 2006, ABC
promoted CSPI’s war against 7Up afer Jacobson filed a lawsuit against the
beverage maker for its advertising. “We’re saying the company should be honest
with consumers and really honest in the marketplace,” Jacobson said as he took
aim at high fructose syrup. He claimed it is not a natural product; therefore,
7Up’s label was misleading.

When mentioned,
CSPI is rarely, if ever, labeled as a liberal organization – they are consulted as experts[8] on all things bad for you. CSPI‘s solution to
everything is more regulation or taxation instead of allowing people to make
choices for themselves on what to consume.

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